1st millennium

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The first millennium is a period of time which commenced on January 1, 1 and ended on December 31, 1000 of the Gregorian calendar. This millennium is the beginning of the Common Era for this calendar as there is no "year zero."

The early first millennium marks the peak of the Roman Empire and its subsequent decline. In analysis grouping history by period this same era is a period of transition also known as Late Antiquity, culminating in the transformation of the Eastern Roman Empire into the Byzantine Empire, while the Western Roman Empire collapses, giving rise to the Early Middle Ages.

As the millennium ages, Christianity and Islam rise to power in the 4th and 7th centuries, respectively. The late 1st millennium sees the Vikings incursions and settlements, founding of the Carolingian dynasties, and as the millennium closes, the gradual transition to what is known as the High Middle Ages.

World population, which had tripled over the preceding millennium, grew more slowly during the thousand year era and could well have diminished. One optimistic estimate the world's population rose from approximately 170 to 300 million, but other estimates vary; one estimate suggests that the world population actually declined from 400 million people to 250 million people.

Events

• Beginning (30s) and rise (4th century) of Christianity
• Volcanic destruction of Pompeii, Herculaneum, and Stabiae (AD 79)
• In Albion — London founded by Romans as Londinium
• Diaspora of the Jews (1st century)
• The Olympic Games observed until 393
• The Library of Alexandria, largest library in the world, burned
• High point, and fall of the Western Roman Empire (5th century)
• Rise of the Byzantine Empire
• Rise of the Bulgarian Empire
• Rise of the Merovingian dynasty (5th century)
• Germanic kingdoms established in Northern and Western Europe (Migration Period, Dark Ages)
• Greek fire invented c. 670 in Constantinople
• Beginning of Islam (7th century)
• Maya civilization at its height
• Three kingdoms in China
• The height of Hindu culture in India under the Gupta Dynasty
• The height of Tamil civilization under the Cholas. Indian colonization of South-East Asia.
• Islamic conquest of the Middle East and North Africa
• Viking raids common in northern Europe (Viking Age, from the 8th century)
• Beginning of the Middle Ages in Europe
• Rise of the Ghana Empire in Mauritania
• Settlement of the Magyars in Hungary (800–900)
• The Jelling stones (AD 958) are erected in Denmark; the stones are identified with the unification of Denmark as one nation

Significant people

• Caesar Augustus, Roman emperor (63 BC–14)
• Jesus of Nazareth, Rabbi and iconoclast apotheosized by the Christian religion; also viewed by the Islamic religion as having been a prophet (d. c. 29–33)
• Paul of Tarsus (d. 67), central apostle of Christianity to the gentiles
• Cai Lun (d. 121), Chinese inventor of paper
• Plutarch (d. c. 127), Greek historian
• Zhang Heng (d. 139), Chinese astronomer and mathematician
• Ptolemy (d. 178), Greek astronomer and mathematician
• Chandragupta (280–319), founder of the Indian Gupta Empire
• Constantine I (d. 337), Roman emperor
• Augustine of Hippo (354–430), theologian and Father of the Church
• Attila (d. 453), Hunnic king and warlord
• Theodoric the Great (454–526), king of the Goths and of Italy
• Aryabhata (b. 476), Indian astronomer and mathematician
• Muhammad (570–632), prophet and founder of Islam
• Saint Isidore of Seville (d. 636), archbishop and encyclopedist
• Brahmagupta (d. 668), Indian mathematician and astronomer
• Saint Bede (672 or 673–735)
• Abi Ishaq (d. 735) Arab grammarian
• Charles Martel (d. 741), defeated the Arabs at Toulouse, 721
• Charlemagne (742-814), Frankish conqueror and founder of the Holy Roman Empire
• Muḥammad ibn Mūsā al-Ḵwārizmī (c. 780 – c. 850), Persian mathematician
• Alfred the Great (c. 849–899)
• Al Battani (850–923), Arab astronomer and mathematician
• Otto the Great (912–973)
• Bjarni Herjólfsson, Norwegian explorer; first known European discoverer of the mainland of the Americas, sighted in 986.

Inventions, discoveries, introductions

• Paper invented in China
• Algebra developed in the Middle East
• Coffee discovered in Ethiopia
• Various horse-riding improvements including the horseshoe and the stirrup
• Hop (plant) added to beer for the first time
• Ptolemaic system used to describe the motion of the planets
• Chess developed, gaining widespread use
• Magnetic compass invented
• Steel first used in India

Centuries and decades

1st century	0s	10s	20s	30s	40s	50s	60s	70s	80s	90s
2nd century	100s	110s	120s	130s	140s	150s	160s	170s	180s	190s
3rd century	200s	210s	220s	230s	240s	250s	260s	270s	280s	290s
4th century	300s	310s	320s	330s	340s	350s	360s	370s	380s	390s
5th century	400s	410s	420s	430s	440s	450s	460s	470s	480s	490s
6th century	500s	510s	520s	530s	540s	550s	560s	570s	580s	590s
7th century	600s	610s	620s	630s	640s	650s	660s	670s	680s	690s
8th century	700s	710s	720s	730s	740s	750s	760s	770s	780s	790s
9th century	800s	810s	820s	830s	840s	850s	860s	870s	880s	890s
10th century	900s	910s	920s	930s	940s	950s	960s	970s	980s	990s

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Last updated on Tuesday March 11, 2008 at 10:28:50 PDT (GMT -0700)
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